Making cities resilient report 2012

This report provides a snapshot of resilience building activities at the local level and identifies trends in the perceptions and approaches of local governments toward disaster risk reduction. It examines factors that enable urban disaster risk reduction activities, including how the global campaign Making Cities Resilient – “My City is Getting Ready!” founded by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in conjunction with over twenty partners has helped improve local knowledge of disaster risk and support capacity building.

The focus on resilience as the theme for this report reflects a mounting recognition that disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable development are inextricably linked. These issues present mutually dependant challenges, which require collaborative, integrated strategies, strong governance, and innovative technological and financial solutions. Nowhere is this more evident than in cities. Complex, unique in their political and economic structures, and widely varying in the vulnerabilities they face, cities—and the growth they will experience over the next two decades—will give way to some of the 21st century’s most important social and economic challenges and opportunities.

The Making Cities Resilient campaign was founded by UNISDR in May 2010 in conjunction with partners including the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), United Cites and Local Governments, (UCLG), ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), CityNet, the European Commission Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), academic institutions and civil society groups.

The report was commissioned by UNISDR and prepared by International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The cities profiled in the report are signatories to the Campaign.